Ingredients
Scale
For the Crust:
- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, grated on a box grater
- 6 tablespoons cold water plus 2 to 3 tablespoons more if your dough is dry
For the Filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon corn meal
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 10 ounces evaporated milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla or 1 vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped and added to the sugar
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- To make the crust, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Add cold, grated butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture, some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes.
- Create a well in the butter and flour mixture and pour in 6 tablespoons of cold water. Use a fork to bring to dough together. Try to moisten all of the flour bits. Add more water if necessary. On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture. It will be moist and shaggy. That’s perfect. If you find the dough needs more moisture, add a bit more. Press and knead the dough into a disk.
- Divide the dough in two and gently knead into two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- To assemble the pie, remove one of the pie dough disks from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into about a 13-inch round. Roll the dough a few strokes, then use your fingers to move the emerging circle around the floured surface. This ensures that the dough isn’t sticking to the work surface. The circle won’t be perfect, that’s ok.
- Try not to get any rips in the rolled out dough, but if you do, they can be patched together with extra dough. When you roll the dough and you can see it start springing back, that means that the butter is warming and the crust shouldn’t be rolled out anymore. Gently lift the 13-inch round from the floured surface and center in a deep 9-inch round pie dish.
- Place the unrolled pie crust in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 1 month. To use, thaw the crust disk in the refrigerator overnight before rolling and shaping in the pie dish.
- Freeze the rolled and shaped pie crust for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375 degrees F to par bake the crust.
- Remove the slightly frozen crust. Lightly spray a piece of parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray. Place the paper, spray side down into the chilled pie crust. Fill the crust with pie weights to the absolute brim,
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Carefully remove the pie weights and gently prick the center of the pie crust with the tines of a for three or four times. Return to the oven and bake for another 4 minutes until the center just sets. Remove from the oven, turn the oven off, and allow the pie crust to cool.
- To make the filling, place sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla bean (if using) in a medium bowl. With your fingers, work the lemon zest and vanilla into the sugar until the sugar is fragrant.
- Whisk in eggs until well incorporated.
- Whisk in cornmeal, cornstarch, and salt until well combined.
- Add the lemon juice, stir.
- Stir in the melted butter and evaporated milk.
- Slowly pour the filling into the partially baked pie shell and place on the middle rack of a cool oven. Turn oven onto 300º. Then set timer for 1 hour and 5 minutes.
- Very low-temperature baking is key to a tender filling that doesn’t get too brown on top. Bake until filling does not jiggle in a wave-like motion and is set to the touch—about 1 hour and 5 minutes, depending on the oven.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature or chill the pie overnight to set and serve chilled with lightly sweetened whipped cream.